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George Santos

Will Santos Resign, Be Expelled, Or Burn Down The House? (VIDEO)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Monday afternoon said he has spoken toRep. George Santos, suggesting the embattled and indicted New York Republican might resign rather than face an impending expulsion vote he’s likely to lose. But over the holiday weekend, Santos suggested he was not going to go without a fight, as he appeared to take a page out of another embattled Republican’s book: former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC).

Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman reports Speaker Johnson says he has spoken to Santos “at ‘length’ about his ‘options’ ahead of expulsion vote. Johnson seemed like the house may avoid a vote — which would mean resignation.” (See video below.)

House Republicans allowed Santos to be seated despite news that he had manufactured his resume and even his religion, news that continued after Republicans allowed him to be sworn in. They refused to expel him when he was indicted on 23 federal felonies including for alleged wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to Congress.

But last week’s damning Ethics Committee report provides, in great detail, “overwhelming evidence” of alleged misconduct, and even more evidence of his alleged criminal acts – beyond what even federal prosecutors listed in their indictments. And it has led to public outcry, forcing some House Republicans to rethink their refusal to expel him.

That report alleges Santos used campaign donor cash for shopping trips, Botox, and even the not-safe-for work site OnlyFans.

Over the weekend, Santos spoke on an audio forum hosted at X, formerly Twitter, and indicated not only would he not resign, he appeared to suggest he might take down some Republicans along the way.

In March of 2022, Cawthorn, amid mounting scandals, lashed out on a podcast, denouncing what he claimed was the “sexual perversion that goes on in Washington,” and alleged some of his colleagues he grew up looking up to, had used cocaine at “orgies.”

In a similar vein, Rep. Santos on Friday in that audio forum, “said he does not want to continue working with ‘a bunch of hypocrites’ in Congress, whom he accused of committing infractions more severe than his, including being ‘more worried about getting drunk every night’ with lobbyists,”The Washington Postreported. “Santos, without providing evidence, also accused his colleagues of trying to ‘sell off the American people’ and of voting while hung over.”

“Within the ranks of United States Congress, there’s felons galore,” Santos alleged.

But he also declared, “I’m not leaving.” “Come hell or high water … it’s done when I say it’s done,” and yet, admitted he would likely be expelled.

“I know I’m going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,” he said. “I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look really good.”

Santos, also “described himself in the conversation as the Republican ‘It Girl’ as well as the ‘Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress.'”

If he does not resign, Congressman Santos could face an expulsion vote this week.

Watch the video below or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

George Santos

Santos: House 'Felons' Get 'Drunk' With 'Lobbyists They’re Going To Screw'

Just days before his potential expulsion from the House of Representatives, Rep. George Santos (R-NY) unleashed on his colleagues late Friday night for several hours in his first public response to the damning report published by the House Committee on Ethics.

"[The report] was designed to smear me, it designed to force me out of my seat," an irate Santos said in the audio recording posted to X (formerly Twitter). He made it clear his anger was at members "on both sides of the aisle."

"They all act like they are on ivory towers with white pointy hats and they're untouchable," he added. "Within the ranks of the United States Congress there's felons galore, there's people with all sorts of sheisty backgrounds."

"I'm not running for reelection because I don't want to work with a bunch of hypocrites. It's gross," he continued. "I have colleagues who are more worried about getting drunk every night with the next lobbyists they're going to screw and pretend like none of us know what's going on and sell off the American people. Not show up to vote because they're too hung over or whatever the reason is, or not show up to vote at all and just give their card out like f---ing candy for someone else to vote for them. This s--- happens every single week... These members behave abominably."

Santos had particular disdain for Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), who chairs the ethics committee, challenging him to make the expulsion a "privileged" motion — meaning it would take precedence over all pending matters. The embattled congressman said Guest "should be a man and stop being a p---y and call the damn motion."

"It ain't gonna be the dude from Mississippi that's gonna kick me, a New Yorker, out of Congress," Santos said roughly 40 minutes into the recording.

While Santos didn't name names, he suggested that other members routinely cheat on their spouses and violate House rules, while lamenting that there were no ethics committee investigations into their behavior.

Santos' hints at illicit behavior from his colleagues harkens back to when former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) was abandoned by his caucus after speaking on a podcast about supposedly being invited to a drug-fueled orgy by his fellow members of Congress. Cawthorn was defeated in a Republican primary in 2022.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Federal Appeals Court Says Insurrectionists Could Be Disqualified From Election

Federal Appeals Court Says Insurrectionists Could Be Disqualified From Election

Joining an insurrection against the United States is grounds for disqualifying a public official from continuing to hold office, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The decision is a significant blow for Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who suffered a not-so-surprising trouncing in the GOP primary for his seat in North Carolina’s 11th District.

Before the defeat, Cawthorn, an extremist Republican and staunch Trump ally, was challenged by North Carolina voters who argued that the lawmaker’s role in inciting the violent mob that later stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was enough reason to ban him from ever holding public office again under the 14th Amendment.

No person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof," the amendment states clearly.

Cawthorn sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections in February to stop officials from entertaining any requests to re-examine his eligibility to run for reelection. The Republican lawmaker argued that an amnesty law Congress passed in 1872 meant that the disqualification language in the 14th amendment didn’t apply to future insurrectionists, according to BuzzFeed.

On Tuesday, a panel of judges at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the plaintiff voters and ruled against Cawthorn. One of the court's three-judge panel, Judge Toby Heytens, wrote, “The issue currently before us is whether that same 1872 legislation also prospectively lifted the constitutional disqualification for all future rebels or insurrectionists, no matter their conduct. To ask such a question is nearly to answer it.”

“The available evidence suggests that the Congress that enacted the 1872 Amnesty Act was, understandably, laser-focused on the then-pressing problems posed by the hordes of former Confederates seeking forgiveness,” Heyten added.

“We hold that the 1872 Amnesty Act removed the Fourteenth Amendment’s eligibility bar only for those whose constitutionally wrongful acts occurred before its enactment,” the ruling read.

Cawthorn argued that the case was moot because he had long since lost and conceded the race to his rival, but the court disagreed because the election results hadn’t been certified yet; therefore, the issue could reappear in another campaign, per the Daily Mail.

However, the court didn’t include any language in its ruling that indicated the judiciary considered the January 6 riot an insurrection, or whether the efforts of Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results could disqualify them from holding office.

Free Speech for People, an advocacy group that backed the voters' challenges to Cawthorn, hailed the ruling as a major victory in its statement. “This ruling cements the growing judicial consensus that the 1872 Amnesty Act does not shield the insurrectionists of 6 January 2021 – including Donald Trump – from the consequences of their actions.”

The group has brought similar cases against other Republicans closely tied to the horrific events of January 6: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Mark Finchem, an Arizona state representative.

Neither of these cases has been successful.

Why Boebert May Follow Cawthorn On The Far-Right Chopping Block

Why Boebert May Follow Cawthorn On The Far-Right Chopping Block

Rep. Madison Cawthorn's (R-N.C.) midterm election defeat has raised lots of questions about the next far-right Republican lawmaker that could be on the political chopping block.

According to a new analysis written by The Daily Beast's senior columnist, Matt Lewis, it looks like Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) may be next. In his new piece published by the Beast, he explained why he believes lightening could "strike twice."

Referencing the words of David B. Wheeler, head of the American Muckrakers PAC, Lewis noted that he'd highlighted the similarities in Cawthorn and Boebert's political landscapes.

"The districts, he says, are 'very similar' demographically. And just as Cawthorn faced a North Carolina state legislator, Boebert’s challenger is Colorado Republican state Sen. Don Coram," Lewis wrote. "There’s also a sense that neither incumbent cares about their district, but are instead more interested in their national profile."

Wheeler also highlighted another issue that may be problematic for Boebert: her personal life. “Their own personal lives seem to be an absolute mess,” Wheeler said of both Republican lawmakers.


From multiple run-ins with the law to marrying the man she'd had domestic violence disputes with Boebert has faced her fair share of personal drama.

While much of Boebert's personal turmoil has already been reported, Lewis noted the more recent issues she's faced since those previous incidents.

He wrote:

"Boebert has had plenty of brushes with the law, including a 2015 incident where she was handcuffed at a country music festival after allegedly encouraging minors being detained for underage drinking to leave police custody. Boebert reportedly told police that 'she had friends at Fox News and that the arrest would be national news.'”

Although she still managed to get elected in 2020, questions are looming about whether or not she'll be re-elected; the same types of concerns that loomed over Cawthorn's political career.

While there are some Republicans who believe campaigning in areas seen as "safe districts" will save them from defeat, Lewis explained what the latest political trend suggests.

"It won’t be easy, but it seems at least possible that Boebert will continue the trend that started last week with Cawthorn’s defeat," he wrote. "If that happens, it’s game on. Extreme politicians from “safe districts” (who have assumed the rules don’t apply to them and that they can act with impunity) will once again discover there are some expected standards of behavior—even for them."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.